The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) issued a warning on Tuesday stating that over 10,000 children in Gaza require treatment for acute malnutrition amidst the ongoing extensive Israeli ground offensive.
UNICEF spokesperson Tise Ingram, speaking from the Al-Mawasi area in southern Gaza, indicated that “the forced and massive displacement of families from Gaza poses a deadly threat to the most vulnerable populations.”
During a press conference at the United Nations in Geneva, she raised alarms about the worsening malnutrition situation among children.
Ingram noted that “26,000 children in the Gaza Strip currently need treatment for acute malnutrition, with over 10,000 in the city of Gaza alone.”
She explained that during August, more than one in eight children tested in Gaza was found to be suffering from acute malnutrition, which is the highest level ever recorded. In the city of Gaza, one in five children faced this health crisis.
Furthermore, she pointed out that nutrition centers in Gaza City have “had to close this week due to evacuation orders and intensified military operations.”
Since the onset of the conflict, the Israeli military has conducted numerous airstrikes on areas designated as “humanitarian” and “safe” for the civilian population, emphasizing their targeting of Hamas fighters who are allegedly hiding among civilians.
The UNICEF spokesperson remarked, “It is inhumane to expect nearly half a million children, who have endured trauma from more than 700 days of ongoing conflict, to flee from one hell to another.”
According to an Israeli military official, approximately 40% of the population around Gaza City, estimated at one million by the United Nations, has evacuated the area.